The election petition tribunal in Lokoja has asserted Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as the authentic winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial District election held on February 25.
In the landmark judgment delivered on Wednesday, the tribunal chairman, Justice K.A. Orjiakoin announced that Akpoti-Uduaghan polled 54,064 votes to numerically defeat her closest challenger, Sadiku Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 51,291 votes.
Owing to this, the tribunal declared Akpoti-Uduaghan as the bonafide winner of the keenly contested senatorial election. Also, the judge directed Ohere to pay Akpoti-Uduaghan the sum of N500,000 as the cost of litigation for the petition.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had approached the tribunal to contest the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which declared Ohere as winner.
In her petition, she cited electoral malpractices and inaccuracies in the votes recorded at various polling units and collation centers.
After evaluating the evidence and testimonies, the tribunal concluded that Akpoti-Uduaghan fulfilled the constitutional requirements to be declared winner.
